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U.S. markets falter Thursday

NEW YORK, Oct. 2 (UPI) -- U.S. stock indexes were lower Thursday, as jobless claims rose, the U.S. Department of Labor said.

First-time unemployment claims rose by 1,000 to a seasonally adjusted 497,000 in the week ending Sept. 27. The Labor Department estimated 45,000 additional claims were filed based on havoc caused by Hurricanes Gustav and Ike.

In late-morning trading, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 230.42 points, or 2.13 percent, to 10,600.65. The Standard and Poor's 500 fell 2.54 percent, to 1,131.58, losing 29.48 points. The Nasdaq composite index fell 2.65 percent to 2,014.63, down 54.77 points.

The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury bond rose 12/32 to yield 3.697 percent.

The dollar was mixed. The euro fell to $1.3804, compared to $1.4013 Wednesday. Against the Japanese yen, the dollar fell to 105.35 yen from 106.04 yen.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei average lost 213.50 points to 11,154.76, down 1.88 percent.

Survey: A majority want a new rescue plan

PRINCETON, N.J., Oct. 2 (UPI) -- A majority of U.S. adults polled indicated they are in favor of a rescue package for the economy but 57 percent want a brand new plan, a survey said.

In a recent Gallup survey 14 percent of the respondents indicated they aren't in favor of any Washington rescue plan. On the flip side, 34 percent indicated they believed without a rescue effort the U.S. economy would fall into a severe recession, Gallup said.

Twenty-two percent indicated an economic depression was likely if no rescue plan was passed.

Consistent with these results, 47 percent of the respondents in the survey indicated they approved of the members of Congress who voted against the original $700 billion rescue plan -- 10 percent more than those who disapproved of those members of Congress.

Presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., was backed by respondents with 51 percent indicating they approved of his handling of the crisis. Forty-two percent indicated they approved of Sen. John McCain's response to the financial fix, Gallup said.

The results of the survey were based on 1,021 interviews conducted Tuesday and carry a 3-percentage-point margin of error, Gallup said.

NASA extends the space station contract

WASHINGTON, Oct. 2 (UPI) -- The U.S. space agency has given a two-year, $650 million contract extension to the Boeing Co. for engineering support of the International Space Station.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration extended the "On-Orbit Segment Acceptance and Vehicle Sustaining Engineering contract" awarded in January 1995 to Sept. 30, 2010.

NASA said work performed under the contract extension will include "completion of delivery and on-orbit acceptance of the U.S. segment of the station, sustaining engineering of station hardware and software, support of U.S. hardware and software provided to international partners and participants in the station program, and end-to-end subsystem management for the majority of station systems."

The contract work will be performed at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., and at other domestic and international locations.

Pension fund ends bid for Daewoo

SEOUL, Oct. 2 (UPI) -- South Korean National Pension Service decided against bidding for Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., officials said Thursday.

The country's largest pension fund gave up its plans because of the current global financial turmoil, the officials said, Yonhap news agency reported.

State-run Korea Development Bank and a government asset management agency are seeking to sell up to 50.4 percent of their stake in Daewoo Shipbuilding.

In August, the pension fund, with assets of about $194 billion, had planned to invest up to $1.27 billion in a joint bid for the world's third-largest shipyard, the report said. The fund had been in talks with several groups to pick a partner.

Yonhap said Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., the world's biggest shipyard, has also been interested in its rival shipbuilder.

"The situation is not good for the fund to make an investment into Daewoo Shipbuilding," a National Pension Service official was quoted as saying, adding the fund is likely to find another source for investment at next week's meeting.